The media got it wrong. Again. For months, we were told that Texas was turning blue. One outlet confidently assured us that: “the state is just as competitive as more traditional battleground states (and more competitive than some!)” Another commentator declared: “For the first time in 18 years, Democrats are seriously challenging Republicans’ political monopoly...
Today, the Houston City Council will consider adopting a property tax rate of $0.561840 per $100 of taxable value, which is very small decrease from the prior year but will still cause bills to grow given the appraisal increase. If adopted, the tax rate is expected to increase city taxes on the average homestead by...
Answer: El Paso. By far. Newly published documents reveal that Sun City imposes a much higher property tax rate than its peers. For fiscal year 2021, the El Paso City Council set its total tax rate at 90.7301 cents per $100 of taxable value. The next highest tax rate was set by Dallas at 77.65...
If you live in Austin, then you probably have a sense that property taxes are high. But do you know exactly how high? If not, the Travis County budget office has you covered. According to the county’s new Budget-in-Brief, the average Travis County homeowner’s tax bill will reach almost $9,000 this year. That’s roughly $500...
Some local officials get huge paychecks. Others walk away with supersized severance packages. Still others are handed pricey perks. Case in point: Bexar County. Included in one of the county’s budget documents is a compensation chart for top officials. The chart includes a column specifying the car allowance given to each official. Some, like the...
The city of Austin’s recent move to cut millions from local law enforcement may end up backfiring in a big way. In the wake of the city’s defunding decision, concerned citizens and top officials alike have begun publicly discussing plans for a state takeover of the Austin Police Department. Proponents argue that the state has...
It is the duty of voters to hold their elected representatives accountable for the decisions they make. This rings especially true for fiscal matters. This much was echoed recently by Mack Morris who wrote that: “If the price of liberty is eternal vigilance, just as surely the price of reasonable taxation is perpetual vigilance.” His...
The Austin City Council is playing politics with public safety. Now some are calling for the statehouse to step in. In a bid to appease far-left radicals, City Hall last month cut millions from the Austin Police Department’s budget and redistributed the money to other social justice causes, such as easing abortion access ($100,000), boosting urban trails...
The city of Austin wants voters to approve a massive bond proposition this November to help fund a $7 billion transportation plan that features a downtown subway system, light rail, and more. But some recent remarks have Austinites asking whether the plan will even work. The controversial comments came from Zach Baumer, the city’s climate...
Despite the suffering and sacrifice of ordinary taxpayers, it seems that some North Texas governments are continuing to tax and spend like normal. For example, Tarrant County officials just approved a budget with “3 to 6 percent salary increases” for county employees. Elsewhere, Fort Worth and Arlington ISDs are asking voters to support massive tax...
Talk about adding salt to the wound, especially since Austin was just rated the “least affordable U.S. city for minimum-wage workers.” Last month, the Austin Independent School District hired a new superintendent, and that official’s starting salary has just been revealed. For her first year, she’ll rake-in a whopping $334,000—more than double what the Texas...
Many Texans have had to make sacrifices this year. Now, some local elected officials are calling on city governments to do the same. One recent high-profile example: Dallas mayor Eric Johnson took aim last week at “bloated” city salaries, saying in a Dallas Morning News op-ed: “The city manager in Dallas makes $406,850 in salary...